Premise: A relic hunter stumbles onto a hidden chamber in Iraq. Rushed for time, he inadvertently loosens an imprisoned force. A woman with a mission she’s been trying to complete for five thousand years. Nick is the one she’s decided will replace the receptacle for Set stolen from her so many years ago. No one better stand in her way. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting – Total Thumbs Up: While we have some great acting powerhouses in this film, there is so much action, little time is left for actual acting. Still, Tom Cruise does a nice job as Nick – relic hunter, thief, adventurer. Annabelle Wallis as Jenny got the biggest range to play with as she dealt with her feelings, her attractions, and her job. She did it well. Sofia Boutella made a nice sultry mummy. Jake Johnson was a ton of fun as Nick’s sidekick Chris Vail. Russell Crowe’s character was a rather big surprise once the two men meet and introductions are made. (He could still take some lessons from James Nesbitt’s superb performance of the same character though. 🙂 )

2) Special Effects – Total Thumbs Up: There was a ton to love about the special effects in this film. Watching the credits, they used a ton of different companies. They come up with some superb images.

Ahmanet’s prison and the other chambers attached to it were very cool! The Crusaders’ tomb when they first find it with the tunnel maker and other sections of the place were well done!

Several special effect parts used weird spiders, tons of rats, black birds and other crawling things. They looked great.

When Ahmanet first shows herself, and the transformation after her first feedings, were enthralling. The change on those she fed on also were fantastic. When she has them rise, and the bones and joints pop and snap – creepy!

Cool sand storms, walking and swimming dead, and all the cool bits using mercury. The look and feel of the base beneath London’s Natural History Museum were great. The all important dagger was a wicked looking thing!

Lots and lots of lovely effects!

3) Plot/Story – Neutral: I go up and down on how I feel about the story. A big part of my issue with it is the presentation. While they didn’t give everything away in the previews, they gave away a lot. So there was little there to give a feeling of discovery or mystery in what was going on.

They also didn’t do themselves any favors by having Henry tell us all about Ahmanet at the very beginning – especially when the information got repeated all over again later as Nick has visions of the past. They could have easily found the Crusaders’ tomb and the wall carvings and left it at that. Thus tantalizing the viewers to discover how the Crusaders and Ahmanet might be related. But no. We got spoonfed the information instead.

A couple of scenes, while cool, didn’t make a lot of sense. Ahmanet wants her new Chosen to willingly submit to the ritual. So, how was giving him nightmares of rats and monsters was supposed to do that? Other images made sense for that, but some others did not.

Also, Nick’s choice in the final room I saw coming ten minutes before he made it. DUH!

There’s tons of action, and they move at breakneck speeds. There’s even a quick wink/homage to Brendan Fraser’s “The Mummy” in the form of the Book of Life showing up at one point. But character development is pushed way back to the background.

4) Stunts – Total Thumbs Up: The whole ‘gag’ in the airplane was fantastic! I felt sorry for them all. lol. The fun chase scene in the Iraqi city with bullets and grenades being used all over the place kept the stunt people quite busy and looked great. Lots of good work from the team.

5) Locations/Cinematography – Total ThumbsUp: Tons of great and real places! Waverley Abbey in the UK, London, the Natural History Museum, the Namib Desert in the country of Namibia in Africa. These great locations added lots of visual flavor to the scenes.

6) Costuming/Makeup – Total Thumbs Up: CGI mixed with real makeup gave some great looks to Ahmanet, Henry, and Vail. The writing on Ahmanet’s skin alone was dazzling. When we see her close to filled out but still with gaps in various places on her face and body, it added so much! Some great contrast too between Nick and Vale in the restroom scene.

Conclusion: The Mummy is a wild ride. Great special effects and stunts. A surprise here and there. Yet a little less telling up front would have made the film more mysterious and thus more enticing to the viewers.